Remember the Island of Misfit Toys? All those toys wanted was a child to love them. Well, Second Chance Toys brings that part of Rudolph’s story to life — really!

No stranger to volunteerism and community service, teenage founder Sasha Lipton, during a drive with her mom in the summer of 2006, noticed many perfectly good toys being disposed of on neighborhood curbs. She quickly realized how many children would love to have them. Today, Sasha’s vision has resulted in hundreds of thousands of toys being distributed to organizations that care for children in need, both nationally and internationally.

Sasha partners with Kohl’s Department Stores to clean up the toys as well as 1-800-Got-Junk to transport the toys.

Second Chance Toys collects only plastic toys that can be easily recycled, and helps the environment at the same time. “Given the nature of plastic, the toys often show little signs of wear. When these “good-as-new” toys are thrown out, they become waste in a landfill, take up a lot of space, and do not biodegrade.” http://www.secondchancetoys.org/initiative

Donating toys also helps the early literacy initiative since we know that playing with toys encourages language development, helps develop necessary motor skills, and is critical for brain growth.

It’s the perfect time to jump in and help Second Chance Toys make a difference in a child’s life this Christmas! Here’s what they need:

1. Plastic toys

2. Clean and in working condition

3. No missing parts

4. Batteries included if applicable

Find a drop off location. Enter your zip code here. If there’s not a location near you, you can consider starting your own.

What a great family, church, or community service project this would be for the holidays!

Good evening, everyone! I’ve been really busy on some very exciting things that are coming in the near future but I wanted to give a big shout-out to all you amazing teachers out there. Although my boys are older now, I’m still so grateful to the incredibly caring teachers who touched their lives in such […]